Weekend Editor

Once you commit to lying, any source of truth is your enemy.

Trump lies.

Do the math.

Richard Brautigan's 1967 poem, "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace", is a utopian vision in which the bots are kind, smart, and good.

Why does our timeline always have to choose the reversed image in the darkest mirror we can find?

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Wat...

US effectively moving to a system where tax policy is set by the executive branch, fully adhoc, unpredictable, and bespoke per company, and based in large part on the presidents' personal relationships with the company's leadership

Today's blog post: A trip to Tanglewood, in which I, a musical barbarian, try to muse about related subjects.

www.someweekendreading.blog/tanglewood-2...

Anyone else can’t wait for summer to be over so fall can begin?

Don’t let this fade away

A longstanding tradition on Superb Owl Sunday. For example:

www.someweekendreading.blog/superb-owl-s...

In your defense, you were probably surrounded by Multicians.

The Eternal Sophomores might be a good band name, though.

(Sophos = wise, mores = fool/moron, so a sophomore is a wise fool who knows enough to get into trouble, but not enough to get back out.)

Clearly the correct answer is this one:

ID Requirements for Federal Facilities Personal Safety & Security YOUR SAFETY OUR PRIORITY The Federal Protective Service is committed to ensuring the safety and security of those who visit and work in federal facilities. Part of the FPS mission is to educate those entering federal facilities about the type of identification (ID) required for access. What type of identification do I need to enter a federal facility? Beginning May 7, 2025, all adults 18 and older will need to present REAL ID-compliant state-issued identification or other acceptable ID to enter most federal facilities. Under the direction of building owners, the Federal Protective Service will ensure that all entrants meet the necessary entry requirements. Upon arrival, individuals may be asked to present a REAL ID-compliant driver's license, a passport, or other acceptable ID. This change is designed to enhance security while establishing consistent identification standards across federal facilities. Some buildings may not be affected by this change. It is recommended that you check the specific facility entrance requirements before attempting to access any federal facility. What is a REAL ID and when do I need one? The REAL ID is a state issued identification card or driver's license that meets the security standards outlined in the REAL ID Act. It strengthens security by making it more difficult for individuals to use counterfeit or invalid identification to access sensitive locations. Ultimately, REAL ID helps federal officials verify identities more efficiently in high-security environments, contributing to a safer environment for travelers, federal employees, and visitors to federal facilities. What services and facilities can I access without a REAL ID? ARE YOU You do not need a REAL ID to: RELLID Enter federal facilities that do not require ID for general access READY? Access health- or life-preserving services • Apply for or receive federal beneffts (such as Social Security or Veterans benefi…

A lot of people are asking why a person needed Real ID to enter an NIH hospital. The reason is that all Federal facilities require this now.

Last month, I attended a USCIS Oath Ceremony for new U.S. citizens, and Real ID was required for entry. I brought my passport.

The thing that gets me about this situation isn't the unconsented surveillance; that's more or less expected, sadly.

What gets me is: we *know* how to make reasonably secure internet devices, secure signatures, end-to-end encryption, etc. Why don't *they* know?

It's the *incompetence* of it all!

Medicare for All - "That's socialism!"

Social Security - "That's socialism!"

Debt free education - "That's socialism!"

Universal childcare - "That's socialism!"

$1 trillion in tax cuts for the richest 1%...

"That's just how it is."

Watergate kicked off a multi-decade project by the right wing to insulate Republican leaders from accountability.

"... both parties..."

Sigh.

Big spending on personal security ignites post-Jan. 6 debate over members' budgets Members of Congress spent hundreds of thousands in campaign funds on security in the first three months of this year.

Even Republican politicians have had to pay for private security from death threats egged on by other Republican politicians:

www.politico.com/news/2021/04...

Texas Judge Freezes Fundraising by Beto O’Rourke for Quorum-Breaking Democrats Read more here.

🚨BREAKING: A Texas judge temporarily blocked former Rep. Beto O’Rourke and his nonprofit Powered by People from using political donations to support quorum-breaking Democratic lawmakers — handing Attorney General Ken Paxton an early win in his legal campaign against the Democrats.

if you're following TX redistricting news and you saw republicans won't let democrats who left the state get paid through direct deposit and you saw jokes that they barely get paid anyway and you're wondering why, it's because TX is set up so only well-off people can afford to be state lawmakers

As of last years, it went up to 574 under the Wyoming rule.

There's a *slight* increase in blue seats, but not as much as I thought there would be. Probably none, if gerrymandering runs riot.

(It takes a lot more seats to neuter a gerrymander.)

www.someweekendreading.blog/die-grundlag...

For example:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces

Everybody knows the fasces straps were leather, not gold.

"Fascism" from the Roman "fasces": a leather belt-bound bundle of rods (corporal punishment) and an axe (capital punishment). "Fajitas" - little belts of meat - is the same root.

So clearly he should have used leather or meat, not gold!

There is, of course, a loophole: if she were to transition, she could run as a man.

Perhaps she would discover that this violates a different boundary condition on her problem.

One of my cats once complained about the meaning of "ChatGPT" in French, which led to the discovery that other people have been exploring cat-rocketry for some time:

www.someweekendreading.blog/misbranding-...

Just like the "truth arbiter" from the Trump administration sent to censor CBS.

deadline.com/2025/08/cbs-....

Measles was eradicated with the vaccine, which is 97% effective at preventing measles.

Antivaxxers are the ones keeping people sick for profit.

A little math about that prison camp in Florida. $450 million per year for 3,000 people is $150,000/person per year. The cost for one person receiving SNAP for one year is $2256, yet they're telling us that's too expensive. threads.com/@unapologeticallyzae

I've been very much an anti-fan of LLMs for some time now:

www.someweekendreading.blog/tags/#Artifi...

Well... Many poisonous insects are brightly colored as a warning against predation.

So the question is: does Trump resemble a poisonous insect?

Yes, there was due process in the Korematsu case. We screwed it up and got the wrong decision, necessitating an apology and reparations years later.

But... some aspect of due process.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koremat...

*salutes*